Monthly Archives: January 2016

Подкрепете Ашраф Фаяд – осъден на смърт защото пише поезия!

Ашраф Фаяд е палестински поет който е бил осъден на смърт от Кралство Саудитска Арабия.

Престъплението за което той е осъден на смърт: той пише поезия!

На 14 януари ще се проведе в света прочит на поезията му в много страни да подкрепят Ашраф Фаяд и свободата на словото.  

На 14 януари ще стартира Sofia MENAR фестивал – и ще има четене!  Радвам се много! Благодаря на Мая Ценова и организаторите на Sofia MENAR фестивал – успех!

Призовавам моите български приятели и всички хора за които свободата на словото е нещо важно, за да подкрепят Ашраф Фаяд. Елате!

Повече информация тук и тук:

A List: Global Readings for Poet Ashraf Fayadh, Sentenced to Death in Saudi Arabia

 

 

 

© Thomas Hübner and mytwostotinki.com, 2014-6. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without expressed and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Thomas Hübner and mytwostotinki.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

My (sometimes) twisted perception

The perception of what I think I see in my surrounding is sometimes a bit twisted and it is maybe even interesting for a psychologist to explain why my mind works like this. In any case it leads sometimes to funny misunderstandings that usually don’t last long.

When I read for example the German word Fallbeispiel (case study), you can be sure that my twisted mind will add unconsciously an l and as a result I read Fallbeilspiel (guillotine game) – although I am usually not prone to bouts of legastheny.

Similar cases happen to me also when other languages are concerned. Today I saw a note in Bulgarian that said На 1 януари хлебари не работят – on 1 January the bakers are not working – but what made the little funny man inside me make out of it unconsciously? It added a k: На 1 януари хлебарки не работят – on 1 January the cockroaches are not working! – Maybe an overdose of Kafka recently, I suppose and as a result the cousins of Gregor Samsa are already following me on the streets of Sofia! (Sorry, dear bakers, not at all your fault!)

And, did I tell you already – beware of the Chinese! Step by step these industrious people are taking over the economy even in my small Balkan country. You want a proof? There is for example now a chain of exchange offices, run by a family Chang in my town – ah ok, just in time the missing -e on the neon sign started to blink and I was suddenly cured from my conspiracy theory and paranoia attack…In such cases I have to laugh about myself!

Do you have similar experiences?

© Thomas Hübner and mytwostotinki.com, 2014-6. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without expressed and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Thomas Hübner and mytwostotinki.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 


June Rain

16 June 1957 – a rainy day but always to be remembered as a black day in the lives of all families in a small town at Mount Lebanon, the stronghold of the Maronites in Lebanon, the day when everybody’s life changed forever in this community.

The rivalry between the two dominating clans, the Al-Ramis and the Al-Semaanis had been lingering since a long time despite the fact that intermarriage between the clans was not rare and that all were Christians of the same denomination. In a church, the conflict that is triggered by political and personal issues, explodes – and in the end 24 men are dead.

Eliyya, the son of one of the victims, comes back to his home town for a visit after having lived for more than twenty years in the United States. He wants to meet his old and nearly blind mother – and to find out who his father – a man whom he has never met – was, and why and how he died. But this is not an investigation that aims in finding a culprit, as the two Armenian photographers suspect that were witnesses of the church massacre and that may or may not have shot photos from the gunfight. For Eliyya it is also an attempt to find out why his mother has sent him away from the small town so early on in his youth, first to school in Beirut and then to study abroad. And what about the rumors that he was conceived after his fathers death?

Eliyya wants to find out where he comes from and why his life in exile is so unhappy and the sense of purpose is drifting away from him because he is for some reason unable to create lasting friendships or relationships with people. He goes to different areas of the town where the two clans live and talks to people who were either witnesses of the events or knew the victims of the massacre intimately. What we read is therefore a mosaic of voices told by different characters.

While reading the book, I realized that some of the traits of the people in the community that the author is describing are typical for many areas in the Mediterranean. The machismo of the small town and its men has a lot in common with what one could find also in Sicily or the Accursed Mountains in Albania for example. An exaggerated pride in traditions and an allegedly prominent lineage (frequently invented), the badmouthing of and gossiping about “the others”, to whom all possible negative characteristics are attributed, the widespread misogyny, the contempt for those who don’t join in the frequent violent skirmishes between the clans, the cult of the gun that plays such a dominating role in this society – it has very little to do with the usual stereotypes (the “bad guys”in this book, if we may call them like this, are all Christians – Muslims are practically absent in this novel) we are used to when we come from a “Western” country.

The author got the inspiration to this novel from a murder in his home town, and he goes to great length to present us a multi-faceted story; the complicated relationship between the people is revealed by the life stories of some of the minor characters, for example the baker who lived during the civil war on the “wrong side” of the town, i.e. surrounded by people from the other clan – being only a baker didn’t protect him in the end. The tailor who takes so much interest in his good looks and his gun. Or the two Armenians, descendants of survivors of the genocide in 1915 whose ancestors found refuge amongst Arabs, but who feel estranged from the community in which they live after the catastrophe in the church. There is Muntaha, a neighbor of Eliyya’s family and the best friend of Kamileh, Eliyya’s mother, who knows a few things that the others don’t know. And there are of course Eliyya’s parents: Yusef, his father, a gambler and womanizer and there is, most importantly Kamileh, Eliyya’s mother who is in a way the real centre of this novel. We get to know her well as readers and we begin to understand that there is also another side to her than that of the constantly bickering, stubborn, and harsh old woman. But as a result of the events she had to go through, she was never able to share this side with her husband or her son or anybody else.

The novel has a very elaborate structure and the author knows obviously exactly about what he is writing. The motives of his characters, as difficult as they seem to be understandable in the beginning, make much more sense while the story moves on. It is also a story of exile – not only Eliyya spends his life abroad, also many of the other characters have been emigrating at least temporarily to some godforsaken place in Brazil, Venezuela or Australia, some of them just coming home in time to become part of the group of men that perished in the church massacre (the “incident”, as it is called by almost everyone).

One of the aspects of this novel that I found most interesting was the author’s analysis of the already mentioned machismo of this very traditional society. It is not only about guns, but also about cars, something to which most of us can relate probably much more easily. The author mentions a rather revealing development – at a certain moment in the late 1950’s, early 1960’s, American cars are getting more and more replaced by German cars:

“…it was tempting to say that they found in German cars a kind of toughness and durability they had missed in the American cars…Mixed in with all of that praise for mechanics was also a general fascination with the German nation for having confronted the whole world by itself in WWII, which was a reason enough for pride, despite its eventual loss.” – (The Falange, the fascist Lebanese party that has as an almost exclusive power and support basis in the Maronite community in Mount Lebanon was never hiding the fact that they were inspired in many respects by the Nazis, SS-like uniforms of their paramilitary militias that are responsible for some of the worst crimes in the Middle East included.)

One of the most interesting paragraphs in the book for me was when the author is explaining how the people were getting used to the sound of the different kinds of gunfire – with the single shot at point blank range being the most chilling since the distance is too short to fail. But there are even absurd cases like those people who are sending a tape with recorded gunfire to a brother in Australia – the poor guy is allegedly living in a place where he is deprived of that sound! That is so grotesque, it is even funny. 

“And then there was the unverified claim that Abu Saeed’s neighbours and relatives started shooting into the air one day, refusing to tell the reason for their joy. The secret didn’t come out until days later, thanks to some women who sent out news outside the quarter that Abu Saeed had been experiencing a constant erection and was worried sick about it. He’d consulted numerous doctors and the day it finally ‘slept’ for him, as they say, all his family and neighbours fired their rifles in celebration.”

I couldn’t help but bursting out laughing when I imagined the whole family and neighbourhood celebrating the receding erection of their leader – hilarious!

Jabbour Douaihy, a professor for French literature in Beirut, was a new name to me. I am glad I read this multi-layered and -voiced novel that didn’t only give me a much better insight and understanding in the reasons for the violence in Lebanon and the Middle East in general, but that is also due to the great abilities of the author as a storyteller a book that will stay very long with the reader. It can be also read as a kind of Bildungsroman of its main character, but that is only one of the various approaches to this rich and thoughtful book. 

In the end we see Eliyya saying good-bye to Kamileh, and it is very probably the final farewell. On his way back to the United States, Eliyya is getting rid of some excess baggage. That is sometimes very helpful – not only while traveling, but in life in general.

June Rain

Jabbour Douaihy: June Rain, transl. by Paula Haydar, Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing, Doha 2014 

© Thomas Hübner and mytwostotinki.com, 2014-6. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without expressed and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Thomas Hübner and mytwostotinki.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 


Fünf kurze Kurzgeschichten von Ugo Untoro

Dua lembar baju, celana, 3 celana dalam, dan handuk kecil kumasukkan
dalam tas. Lewat pintu belakang aku keluar, satpamku juga tertidur dekat
dengan kurungan herder. Tetapi terlelap.
Anakku, istriku kalau mau ketemu dengan aku tontonlah sirkus keliling.

Ich legte zwei Hemden, ein Paar Hosen, drei Unterhosen und ein kleines Handtuch in meine Tasche. Ich ging durch die Hintertür hinaus. Mein Wachmann befand sich neben dem Zwinger mit dem Schäferhund. Beide schliefen. Mein Sohn, meine Frau, wenn ihr mich sehen wollt, kommt und schaut euch die Zirkusvorstellung an.

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Dasar aku memang klepto, aku di kamar kecil Kereta Api (Train Urinoir) dan aku mencuri papan yang tertulis “Pergunakanlah hanya waktu kereta jalan.” Tidak berhasil karena pecah, bautnya terlalu kencang, BAJINGAN!!

Ich bin wirklich ein Kleptomane, ich war im Zugurinal und stahl das Schild auf dem steht „Nur benutzen wenn der Zug fährt.“ Es ging schief, denn es zerbrach, der Bolzen saß zu fest. BASTARD!!

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Telpon berdering.
“Halo, siapa?”
“Selli mas!”
“Selli?!”
Bekas pacarku dulu sekali, waktu aku masih ingusan dan pemalu banget.
Pegang jarinya saja sudah gemetar, ngomong juga jarang, jadi surat-suratan
terus.
“Berapa anakmu sekarang Sell?”
“Dua mas, cewek-cowok”
“Suamimu dimana?”
Dia ngomong lagi ngebor minyak di Riau. Kami janjian bertemu, dua hari
lagi. Di tengah hujan lebat, di bawah beringi, kutiduri ia dalam mobilku.
Aku tidak pemalu lagi.

Das Telefon klingelte.
„Hallo, wer ist dran?“
„Hier ist Selli!“
„Selli?!“
Sie war meine Freundin als ich noch ganz jung und schüchtern war.
Zu jener Zeit zitterte ich sogar, wenn ich nur ihre Hand hielt. Wir sprachen kaum jemals miteinander, aber wir schickten uns lange Zeit Briefe.
„Wie viele Kinder hast du jetzt, Sell?“
„Zwei, ein Mädchen und einen Jungen.“
„Wo steckt dein Mann?“
Sie sagte, ihr Mann wäre in Riau beim Ölbohren. Wir verabredeten uns für den übernächsten Tag. Im strömenden Regen, unter einem Banyan-Baum, fickte ich sie in meinem Auto.
Ich war nicht mehr schüchtern.

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Anjing hitam tak tau apa yang harus dia perbuat ketika dilihat tuannya
mencari-cari tali, mengikatnya di kusen pintu dan meletakkan kursi rendah di
bawahnya.

Der schwarze Hund wusste nicht, was er tun sollte als er sah, dass sein Herrchen nach einem Seil suchte, es dann am Türrahmen festband und einen Stuhl darunter stellte.

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Nahkodanya kapal Nuh terlalu banyak minum Rum. Sebuah ombak besar
datang menghantam dan langsung tenggelam. Nabi Nuh tidak bisa berenang
dan semua binatang yang dikumpulkannya mati. Hanya sepasang Gagak
yang sempat menyelamatkan diri.
Mereka terbang dan mencari sarang. Beranak pinak, anak cucunya ada
yang kawin sama ikan, gurita, kerang, ubur-ubur, penyu, dan kitalah
keturunannya.

Der Kapitän von Noahs Arche trank zu viel Rum.  Eine gewaltige Welle krachte ins Schiff und es sank sofort. Noah konnte nicht schwimmen und alle Tiere an Bord der Arche wurden getötet. Nur ein Krähenpaar hatte genug Zeit zu fliehen.
Sie flogen davon und suchten nach einem Nistplatz. Dann brüteten sie; einige ihrer Kinder und Enkel heirateten Fische, Tintenfische, Austern, Quallen, Schildkröten, und wir sind ihre Nachfahren.

Aus dem Indonesischen übersetzt von Thomas Hübner

Give Me a Cross

Ugo Untoro: Give Me a Cross, Ölfarbe und Kohle auf Leinwand, 150x100cm, 2008  (Photo Biasa Art Space)

Ugo Untoro: Cerita Pendek Sekali (Kurze Kurzgeschichten), Museum dan Tanah Liat, Bantul, Yogyakarta 2006

© Ugo Untoro, 2006-2008
© Biasa Art Space, 2008 (Photo) 
© Thomas Hübner and mytwostotinki.com, 2014-6. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without expressed and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Thomas Hübner and mytwostotinki.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

My blogging year 2015 – some figures

This was my blogging year 2015 in a few numbers (in brackets the figures for 2014):

Posts total: 87 (83) – +4.8%
Posts in English: 71 (81) – -12.3%
Posts in German: 15 (2) – +750%
Posts in Bulgarian: 1 (0)
Number of unique visitors: 38,331 (19,261) – +99%
Number of visits: 94,639 (82,672) – +14.5%
Number of visited pages: 300,456 (299,447) – +0.3%
Number of page hits: 580,619 (477,390) – +21.6%
Number of countries of location of visitors: 164 (134) – +22.4%
Top five countries page hits: USA, Albania, Germany, France, Ukraine (China, USA, Albania, Ukraine, Serbia)
Number of FB followers: 478 (306) – +56.2%
Number of Twitter followers: 1026 (565) – +81.6%
Most popular blog post: A case of revisionism
Original language of the reviewed/quoted book: German 49 (47), Bulgarian 25 (9), English 10 (51), French 7 (6), Russian 4 (6), Indonesian 3 (2), Arabic 2 (4), Spanish 2 (4), Dutch 2 (1), Japanese 1 (4), Italian 1 (2), Portuguese 1 (1), Yiddish 1 (1), Chinese 1 (0), Serbian 1 (0), Albanian 0 (3), Turkish 0 (3), Greek 0 (2), Lithuanian 0 (1), Norwegian 0 (1)

All the best and a Happy New Year 2016 for all readers!

© Thomas Hübner and mytwostotinki.com, 2014-6. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without expressed and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Thomas Hübner and mytwostotinki.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.